1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward a cottoner and a method of operating at least part of the cottoner. The invention is more particularly directed toward a cottoner that quickly and cleanly provides sections of wadding material; inserts the sections into containers; and checks that the sections have been properly inserted into the containers. The invention is also particularly directed to a wadding section forming station of the cottoner which provides the sections of wadding material and to a method for operating the section forming station. The invention is further particularly directed toward a sensing station on the cottoner for determining whether or not a container is properly filled with a section of wadding material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cottoners, providing sections of wadding material which are usually doubled and stuffed into containers holding pills or the like, are well known. The sections of wadding material are usually cut from a long length of the wadding material and fed to a location where the section is doubled and then inserted into the container. The sections are usually cut by cutters such as scissors. However, cutting the wadding material produces loose bits and pieces of the wadding material which bits and pieces can accumulate in the apparatus and eventually interfere with its operation. Frequent cleaning eliminates this problem but is time consuming and not productive. Some cottoners pull the sections off the length of wadding material rather than cutting them off. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,501,770 and 2,805,531. These machines are cleaner to operate but they are still quite slow in operation employing, as they do, feed rolls to initially feed the length of wadding material and rotating tables to feed the sections. The known machines are also difficult to thread to start the operations or to continue them if the wadding breaks. The known cottoners also do not sense if the wadding has been properly inserted in the containers. If the wadding sticks out slightly, it may be difficult to place caps on the containers, particularly if the caps are screwed on.
It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner apparatus that provides sections of wadding by pulling rather than cutting the wadding thus minimizing the accumulation of the bits and pieces of wadding around the machine during operation. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner which is fast, easy to operate, and reliable in operation. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner which can be simply and easily adjusted to provide the sections in different lengths as required. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner that can be easily and quickly threaded with the length of wadding to begin operation of the device. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a method of operating a wadding section forming station in a cottoner. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner which has sensing means for sensing that the wadding has been properly inserted in the containers, the sensing means located in a position to be readily accessible and adjustable.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cottoner having a wadding section forming station for providing sections of wadding which station uses reciprocating carrier means for carrying the length of wadding material to a position where it is sectioned by pulling. The forming station can be easily operated in a slower mode than normal for automatically threading the length of wadding material to start operations. The forming station includes holding means downstream from the carrier means for selectively holding the wadding; and feeding means downstream from the holding means for pulling a section of wadding away from the holding means, the section of wadding separating from the length of wadding at the holding means. The forming station is operated in a sequence where, with the holding means open, the carrier moves toward it to feed the leading end of the wadding material from the holding means to the feeding means. The carrier stops, the feeding means operates and then the holding means closes to have the feeding means pull a section of wadding material away from the length of wadding material at the holding means. The feeding means stops, the carrier moves away from the holding means, the holding means opens, and the cycle is repeated.
The feeding means feeds the separated section of wadding material to a section locating means. From the locating means, a loading station takes the wadding section, folds it and inserts into a container. The filled container is then moved past a sensing station on the apparatus, the sensing station checking that there is a section of wadding in the container and also checking that the wadding is fully within the container and not partially sticking out. The sensing station is in a position where it can be easily adjusted for handling different containers and easily serviced.
The invention is particularly directed toward a wadding section forming station for a cottoner, the station having: carrier means, holding means, and feeding means mounted on a base in series. Moving means on the base reciprocate the carrier means toward and away from the feeding means. Operating means on the base open and close the holding means. The carrier means has gripping means for gripping a length of wadding material to carry it from the holding means toward the feeding means when the carrier means is moved toward the feeding means while the holding means is open. The carrier means releases the length of wadding material when moved away from the feeding means while the holding means is closed to hold the length of wadding material.
The invention is also directed toward a sensing station for a cottoner having a first sensing means for sensing if there is a wadding section in a container and a second sensing means for sensing if the wadding section is fully within the container.
The invention is further directed toward a cottoner apparatus having;
a wadding section forming station for a cottoner, the forming station having: carrier means, holding means, and feeding means mounted on a base in series. Moving means on the base reciprocate the carrier means toward and away from the feeding means. Operating means on the base open and close the holding means. The carrier means has gripping means for gripping a length of wadding material to carry it from the holding means toward the feeding means when the carrier means is moved toward the feeding means while the holding means is open. The carrier means releases the length of wadding material when moved away from the feeding means while the holding means is closed to hold the length of wadding material. The cottoner includes a loading station for taking each wadding section from the forming station and inserting it into a container; and a sensing station having a first sensing means for sensing if there is a wadding section in the container and a second sensing means for sensing if the wadding section is fully within the container.
The invention is also directed toward a method of operating a wadding section forming station in a cottoner to form sections of wadding material from a length of wadding material, the forming station having a carrier means, holding means and feeding means in series. The length of wadding material is passed by the carrier means and has its leading end held by the holding means. The method including the steps of: opening the holding means; moving the carrier means toward the holding means from a first position to a second position, the carrier means carrying the length of wadding material to move the leading end of the wadding material to the feeding means; rapidly operating the feeding means to feed the wadding material past the holding means and the carrier means; operating the holding means to clamp the material when a predetermined amount has been fed past the holding means by the feeding means to separate a section of the material from the length of material at the holding means; and stopping the feeding means after feeding the section through the feeding means.